In Love and War
by Alexinie
Summary: Mitchell and Anders were bound together in an inescapable fate, yet their love corrupted and suffocated one another as much as it nourished and revived them. This time, their paths have crossed once more and Mitchell knows he should stay away.


**Aaah first cross-over alert, exciting stuff! Anyway, I posted this a while back on Live Journal but wanted to keep all my fiction seperate fom my RPF together here... So I hope you like it and tell me what you think! :D xx**

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Mitchell swallowed thickly. _This was bad_. Bad like, proper bonkers running in a circle shrieking bad. Bad. Bad.

_Now just think_. He mentally shook himself, there could be a million, reasonable, sensible explanations for this.

But there weren't. He knew exactly what this was. Who this was.

Turning closer to the wall and away from the bar, Mitchell pulled his jumper up closer in a feeble attempt to hide his presence. Stupid half-assed attempt really; it was never going to work.

After all, what other explanation would there be for Bragi, God of poetry to be in a bar in bloody Bristol on a Tuesday afternoon if it didn't directly link to Mitchell himself? It had been a good long while since he'd seen the man though and he wasn't sure he was ready to let him back into his life again.

He'd felt it as soon as the door was pushed open, an unnaturally strong breeze playing about his face, drawing his gaze to the blonde man entering. It was a strange thing, being bonded to a God. It was involuntary and intoxicating. It followed you, drew you together and then let you forget it for months and years on end before hitting you like a ton of bricks again. That and the fact that being bonded with a God like Bragi came with a whole load of emotional and physical trauma. It was exhilarating, and destroying.

Nope. No, not again. Not like this. He decided, draining his pint and standing to reach for his jacket-

"Leaving so soon?" an amused voice asked from behind him "without even saying hi? I'm hurt." Shit. Mitchell ground his teeth together, throwing his jacket back on the chair and spinning slowly to face the self-satisfied voice's owner.

"Hello Anders." Mitchell grimaced reluctantly looking down into the green-grey eyes that saw through him in a way only one person on earth could. Anders grinned easily, hands in pockets and rocking slightly on his heels.

"And here I was, thinking you'd forgotten my name." The shorter man muttered with an accusatory tone. Mitchell sunk back into his chair as the blonde walked around the small table to slide gracefully into one opposite "been a while, huh?" he drawled in the New Zealand accent that made the hairs on the back of Mitchell's neck raise, defying every rational thought that screamed at him to run.

You see, the thing with Anders was, well- Anders was an asshole. He swept into Mitchell's life from time to time, revelling in drawing him into a world of whirlwind emotions and consuming lust and then sweeping back out again. Leaving Mitchell, no, everyone around him to mop up the mess.

See, Mitchell wasn't good at keeping the **blood** separate from the **sex**, and with Anders it was all about the sex. And the worst part? Mitchell wasn't even sure he cared. Wasn't sure that it wasn't worth it in many ways. Hell, who was he to argue with these things? Fate was a fickle friend to vampires, and life always found a way to get worse. Why not just help it on its way?

No. And there it was. The pull. The need. It was impossible to refuse for long and that's why this had to be over and done with quickly. He had to break away. Had to, before he couldn't.

"What do you want Anders?" he asked to the bottom of his glass "Or should I just put my hands over my ears and run now?"

"You know perfectly well that doesn't work with you." the God snapped back before taking a breath and leaning back into his chair "it never has." he added in a quieter tone.

Mitchell's gaze rose wearily to look Anders in the eye, disregarding his last comment- not that it wasn't true- but "you didn't answer my question."

"Still as brooding as ever I see" the blonde remarked, smirk playing about his lips "you know I've always liked that. There's something ridiculously sexy about an intense vampire. You don't look too good John when was the last time you fed?" a playful spark ignited in Ander's eyes, yet after seeing the warning flare in Mitchell's own, he held his palms up in the air "okay, alright fine. I missed you. I've really fucking missed you, actually."

He was a gonner. Mitchell knew it as soon as the honeyed voice reached his ears and his breathing hitched in his lungs. This was happening, again, and anything in the meantime would just be stalling.

"Cut the crap Anders. You're incapable of missing someone. You'd have to have feelings to do that." Mitchell was aware he was beginning to sound like a menstruating teenage girl now.

"Oh give me some credit Mitchell" Anders leaned forward, tone rivalling the vampire's for moodiness. If there was one thing they were good at together, it was fighting. And fucking, of course; that they did best of all. "I'm bad with monogamy. Not with emotions." and as hard as he would deny it later, Mitchell's mouth raised into a smile, a small laugh tumbling off his lips "what?" Anders chuckled, innocence oozing off his poster-boy PR face.

"You're unstoppable, you know that?" he smiled, a genuine smile at his old friend, lover and nightmare. "I've missed you too" he admitted finally, setting him already emptied glass down along with any self control he had left; slapping himself mentally. This was Anders. This was bad. This could only end badly

"I hoped you'd say that" Anders drawled, in a voice that would put a sex-line worker to shame. And Mitchell felt himself sink deeper into the hole. It was the same for Anders, he knew. Deep, deep, deep down beneath the asshole exterior he knew he felt some level of guilt for all of this. It was just in his nature, Mitchell supposed, to screw people around and leave. Gods were like that. Hell, vampires were like that! You only had to think about Lauren to… Mitchell let that thought trail off into the depths of his mind.

Technically, Gods each had their partner goddess that they would flit around like a butterfly throughout their incarnation; hurting one another through the need to love them. Only, something different had happened to Anders, well Bragi this time around.

Bragi had met a vampire, unplanned, unexpected and truthfully? Rather unwanted- on both sides. Neither knew how or why things had changed, and they were bonded together in a way both of them could no more hate than love. It was a messy thing, painful and complicated. See, they were perfect for one another, every fibre of their beings screamed for the other. They just couldn't stand to be close to one another

Another God thing, apparently. Anders had told him once, that if he didn't hurt him by leaving, he'd probably kill him through staying. Mitchell was undecided about which was worse.

So they met up like this, out of the blue and unexpectedly. Life found ways of pulling them together before the waves of natural progression pushed them apart again and they parted until the next time.

It was like a drug. Good at the start, but it consumed you and warped your perception of things. You forgot about how the outside world worked. Forgot that love wasn't supposed to be like this.

"So, what's brought you to the paradise that is Bristol, on the lovely island of Britain?" Mitchell attempted to break the crackling tension that was brewing around them.

"Work, actually. Pharmaceutical company that's developed some new wonder drug or, something" he waved his hands around dismissively, eyes returning to Mitchell's own with their usual intensity. "Not sure really, I haven't read up on it yet."

"You've had a 24 hour flight, some time-passing research never crossed your mind?" he chuckled silently

"Well it did occur to me, thank you." Anders replied, dripping with sarcasm that made Mitchell's eyes roll "but my destination somewhat distracted me."

"Why's that?" the brunette wondered playfully, aware that he was swimming with sharks now.

"There's some spectacular company to be found I've heard. Though so far, I've met a mute cab driver, an over enthusiastic direction giver and a grumpy ass vampire." the God dragged his teeth across his bottom lip in a way that made Mitchell swallow hard again

"Said vampire might be more inclined to please if his company was better." Mitchell challenged, nodding at his glass "want one?"

Anders groaned

"your drink is like your weather though. Weak." a grin playing about his lips he shook his head before sighing "besides, I have other things in mind than getting drunk. You really do look tired you know." pale eyes studied Mitchell with a worrying level of concern for Anders, it wasn't natural.

"I'm fine" he snapped, clearly displaying that he wasn't. See, that was another thing about him and Anders- he could feed off him without killing him. "Really, it's just been a while."

It was true that Ander's powers didn't work on him in terms of seduction or control- their thing, bond, whatever saw to that. Mitchell was immune to it all, but his darkness wasn't. The side of him that took over when he fed, the hunger inside him that couldn't stop until he felt very last drop of life pass from someone's body past his lips. It stilled in a moment with one word from Anders and it was a breathtaking new freedom that Mitchell had never known from that side of himself. It was control of the monster.

"Care to prove that, Mr Moody?" the blonde teased, slowly moving his hand across the table to brush against Mitchell's own who wound his fingers around the extended digits automatically. The skin on skin contact broke the last threads of resistance holding back the wave of desire between them. Anders gasped as Mitchell's eyes flickered black before smirking wickedly "well alright then." he hummed.

"I believe you've got some apologising to do." Mitchell breathed, voice now husky and low as he felt the tide crash around his mind, keeping the monster at bay, keeping Anders at arms length. Because the moment he let Anders in, there was no going back, not this time at least.

"I can be very, convincing." Ander's breathed against his lips. When had he gotten so close? His eyes barely focusing, not seeing the world around them, Mitchell gave in. Closing the space between them, he accepted the inevitable.

Their lips crashed together like the tide upon rocks. Forceful and domineering and so sweetly natural it made Mitchell question why on earth he'd ever tried to fight it before. Time warped when they were together, and he had no clue how long they remained entwined together like that.

"I'm staying just around the corner." Anders finally whispered into his ear, breathing heavily "and I have something much more drinkable than this shit." he nudged the empty pint glass and Mitchell could see, hear, smell the blood coursing through Ander's neck by his own cheek.

The vampire looked up at the God, his fate and the bane of his life all at once and knew that nothing would ever be as perfect or as tragic as this. Desire in every form ran through his body at the sight of the man before him.

"I need you" he gasped, fighting to keep his eyes human- to show Ander's his good side before the monster had his way once again. Perhaps this time could be different- no- this time it would be different. This time Mitchell wouldn't get hurt. "Now."

"Well darling, you need only have asked." the blonde grinned victoriously, his own pupils dilated with inhuman desires and stood before Mitchell, offering a hand to follow.

With a deep breath, he took the extended palm in his own and followed Anders out of the pub. Slowly, the day fell away into night and time dissolved into sex, blood and dark, corrupt love.

Being with Anders was bad, they both knew that; but no one ever said Mitchell was the good guy, he was not the maiden that needed saving from this. The brunette mused about their relationship- if you could call it that- as he lay awake next to the sleeping man later that night, unable to do the right thing and tear himself away now, before Anders woke again.

He leant back against the headboard and lit a cigarette, satisfaction coursing through his veins at the comforting, grounding feeling of Ander's arms around his middle. He had never felt so alive as he did during these cataclysmic moments and Mitchell didn't even feel a shred of remorse for what was to come when they were over

_Let the world fall down_, he thought, _let everything cease to be, and let them all play in the chaos to follow. Let them feel for a second, what I have felt for a century_

Mitchell breathed out a stream of twisting smoke into the semi-darkness and relaxed into his lover's embrace, the very embrace that would be his noose when they should part again, determined that this time he wouldn't be the one left shattered and alone.

After all, where gods and vampires were concerned- _all was fair in love and war_.


End file.
